Crash Landing
by superdory57
Summary: All the distractions have kept the heroes from focusing on things at home and now trouble is moving in. What is the mysterious machine in the desert? Where did it come from, and who will end up with it? Oliver, Chloe, and Clark call on some old friends for help answering these questions, and Lois gets caught in the middle again. part four of the Misadventures of Lois Lane series.
1. Stolen Dig

_Hey we are back! The power rangers are around again though they don't get a great heroic part in this one it's important, I promise! Clark gets to spread his wings a little more and be back in his element YAY! Keep an eye out for the start of our final piece in this series END GAME coming soon. :D For now however the heroes get to go a little deeper into the plot that has been building and meet some new friends! Please R&R we love to know what you are thinking. _

_Disclaimer: We do not own Smallville or The Power Rangers! I own the microwave, and my roommate well her cats own her so..._

Crash Landing

_Ring. Ring. _

"Lex Luthor."

_"The site is yours. We're securing it now." _

"Good," Lex answered. "I want to be notified the moment you finish uncovering the object."

He hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair, smiling.

"What do you mean, 'kicked out'?" Oliver yelled into the phone. "How do my workers get kicked out of my own dig site?"

_"Someone else bought out the research, Mr. Queen. They've brought in their own workers and completely blocked off the site."_

"How?" he asked, frustrated. "No one else was supposed to be allowed anywhere near that dig!"

_"We're not sure…"_

"Then you had better find out!"

The door opened and closed, but Oliver didn't notice.

"I don't care how, just find out who took the project!" he shouted. "It's too important to just let someone walk in and take it."

"Should I come back later?" a voice said behind him.

Oliver whipped around to snap, but stopped himself when he saw it was Chloe standing there and watching him. He took a deep breath.

"Get me that information. Now," Oliver snarled, and then he slammed down the phone.

Taking another deep breath, Oliver dropped down into his chair and put his head in his hands.

"What's going on?" Chloe asked in concern. "What was all the yelling about?"

"That dig out in California," Oliver said, looking up. "It started out as just some old ruins, but we started finding pieces of alien technology. Most notably, one device that is mostly intact. Some kind of chair with a piece that covers the head. We hadn't move it yet and, unfortunately, I am now being denied access to the site. Someone bought out the research rights. And right under my nose!"

"Well, you have been a little distracted lately," Chloe said. "What with dealing with the after effects of Scarecrow's visit and fixing things with Bruce."

"Yeah," Oliver said. "I just don't know how he got around me…"

"Who was it?" Chloe asked, leaning on the desk.

"I don't have any proof yet, but I think it was Lex," he said with a scowl. "He was bugging me about it last month just before Scarecrow showed up. I thought I had done enough to keep him away, but apparently I was wrong."

"What's so important about it?" Chloe asked.

"It's alien technology, Chloe," Oliver answered, standing up and grabbing his coat. "And anything alien is important, especially when Lex gets interested. But I don't have access to anything at all anymore, so I don't even have a picture to use for further research. I don't think it's Kryptonian, but letting Lex have it just seems like a bad idea all around."

"Yes, it does," Chloe said, looping her arm through his as he came around the desk. "So let's see what we can do to get it away from him. Starting with Clark getting a picture for us. You said the device should still be on site, right?"

"How many of these journals do I have to go through?" Oliver complained.

"As many as it takes, Oliver," Chloe said, distracted by the computer.

Oliver was sitting in a chair near Chloe's computer, reading through Dr. Swan's journals. Clark had dropped them off. Chloe was working at her computer. The other members of the JLA were on video conference with her on the surrounding screens. As Oliver set down yet another journal, Clark sped back into the room. Chloe turned to look at him.

"Sorry, Chloe," Clark said, shaking his head. "No luck. I just finished talking to Jor-el at the ice fortress and he didn't recognize it. The machine isn't Kryptonian."

Chloe sighed and turned back to the videos.

"What about you Carter," she said. "Have you come up with anything?"

"No," he answered. "I can't remember ever seeing anything like it.

"He's just old, Chloe," Courtney said from another screen. "How can you expect him to remember anything?

Carter glared across screens. Grinning, Courtney waved.

"I guess that options is out then," Chloe said. "I was hoping you'd seen something like it in one of your past lives."

"Sorry, Chloe," Carter said, shaking his head again. "I've been trying to connect it to something, but it just doesn't ring any bells."

"Besides," Courtney said. "Even if he could remember every detail, that thing looks too new to be from one of his past lives."

"She's right," Victor interjected. "The sand and heat would have destroyed the technology by now if it was from more than a few years ago."

"Not necessarily," Carter said. "You'd be surprised by what the desert can preserve. Sure, it could have some problems running, but the machine itself would have been preserved. Kind of like sand-blasting it over a long period of time. Any gears are probably clogged, but it wouldn't take much to clean them out."

"So then we really don't even have an age," Chloe said, rubbing her forhead.

"And I'm still not finding anything online," Victor said. "No pictures, no references. Nothing. It's like the thing doesn't exist."

"It definitely exists," Oliver said, putting down the journals and joining Chloe. "I've seen it and so has Clark."

"Any luck in the journals?" Chloe asked, looking up at Oliver.

"Nothing," he answered. "And there's no point in looking anymore. If Jor-el doesn't know what it is, then it isn't going to be in Dr. Swan's journals."

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Clark said, pacing.

"We still have some options, Clark," Chloe said. "Not everyone is back yet from searching."

"I hope you gave Bart strict instructions to search and return," Dinah said. "You know how easily he gets distracted."

"As long as he doesn't go two weeks without checking in again," Chloe said. "I'll give him another half hour before I start calling."

She glanced over at the empty screen where Bart should have been. Shaking her head, Chloe turned to AC. He had just returned and was standing on screen, water dripping from his hair.

"Any luck?" Chloe asked.

"No—"

"I just finished searching that list of places you gave me," Bart said, appearing on his screen and interrupting AC. "I didn't find anything. Well, except some new food places. There's one in Ecuador—"

"No luck," AC interrupted, glaring at Bart. "I couldn't find any signs of it searching the oceans."

"That really doesn't surprise me," Chloe said. "I stick by the idea of it being alien technology. Which means it probably fell to earth and landed there. I doubt we'll find any other physical evidence on this planet."

"Face it, Chloe," Clark said. "We're striking out. What other options do we have?"

"What about you, John?" Chloe asked, ignoring Clark. "You've been to other planets. Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"I'm sorry, Chloe," John answered. "But no. I've never seen anything like it. I think you're probably right in assuming it's alien in origin, but I couldn't begin to guess the civilization."

"So we're still right where we started when you showed us the picture," Dinah said. "With all of our resources, how are we coming up with nothing?"

"That's what's so frustrating," Chloe said. "Well, I have one more idea. If that doesn't work, then we'll be operating blind."

"Let us know what you find out," John said.

"I'll be in South America if you need me," Bart said. "Talk to you later."

"Don't worry," Chloe said. "I'll update everyone as soon as I know something one way or the other."

When everyone was gone, Clark and Oliver turned and looked at Chloe.

"So what's the plan?" Oliver asked. "What else do you have up your sleeve? And please don't say we're invading Lex's lab right now."

"Nope," Chloe said. "Who else do we know who has as much, if not more, experience with aliens?"

"Umm… I thought that was John," Clark said. "He is a Martian after all."

"Tommy and Hayley," Chloe said. "With all of their ranger connections, they've been dealing with aliens for years."

"But why would they know what it is?" Oliver asked. "Tommy was never a ranger in space. Have they even dealt with aliens directly?"

"Trust me, Oliver," Chloe said. "If anyone is going to know anything at this point, it'll be them."


	2. Calling for Help

"Any ideas?" Chloe asked, looking at Hayley on the screen.

"It's definitely alien," Hayley said. "And I think you're right, from everything I've seen, about it not being Kryptonian. It actually looks really familiar."

"We confirmed that it isn't Kryptonian," Chloe said, glancing at Clark. "And John doesn't recognize it either."

Tommy walked on screen, sitting down next to Hayley at the computer.

"How's it going?" he asked. "Wait. That's the brain-drain machine Prince Gasket used on me when I was a zeo ranger. Why are we looking at a picture of it?"

"Because one of Oliver's research teams found it in the deserts of California," Chloe said. "We've been trying to figure out what it was for the past two days. And if that's a brainwashing machine, then I really don't want to leave it in Lex's possession."

"Brain-drain, not wash. It takes away memory," Tommy said absently, still looking at the picture. "And the lost memories can be replaced with anything. It must have been transported through the portal when everything was destroyed…"

Tommy paused for a moment.

"Wait. Why does he have it?" he asked. "I thought it was Oliver's dig site."

"Well, not anymore," Oliver said. "Lex stole it from me. Bought out the research rights while I was busy with other things."

Tommy and Hayley exchanged looks.

"If everything you've told us about Luthor is true," Tommy said grimly. "Then we need to get it away as quickly as we can. Before he can use it on anyone."

"What do you think we should do?" Chloe asked. "I mean, we can always try and retrieve it ourselves, but we don't know how the thing works. I wouldn't want activate it on accident."

"Don't worry," Tommy said. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Tommy!" someone called from off screen. "The game is on."

"Be there in a minute," Tommy answered as another man walked into view of the camera.

"Hey, Tommy," Oliver said. "There's a strange man in your lab."

"That's Jason," Tommy said.

Jason, who had been heading back toward the stairs, paused and turned back around. He approached the computer.

"Sup," he said, waving a hand.

"Jason is the original red ranger and zeo gold," Tommy added. "He's visiting for the weekend."

"Dude, what's that doing on the screen?" Jason asked suddenly, pointing.

"Oh," Tommy said. "The group over in Metropolis found it buried in a desert somewhere. I'm going to go help them dispose of it."

"I don't think so, bro," Jason said, crossing his arms in front of him. "You're not going anywhere near that thing. We almost didn't break you out of it the last time."

"Jason," Tommy said, "I'm just going to help them retrieve it. It's not like I'm planning on sitting in it."

"Not gonna happen, bro," he said. "You're a trouble magnet and you know it."

"So what am I supposed to do? Leave it with them?"

"I don't care about that, I just don't want to deal with you being brainwashed ever again."

"But the person who has it is planning to use it," Tommy argued. "On normal people! Or even worse, the JLA team. Just think of the damage they'd cause."

"You're still not going," Jason said, not backing down.

"Ok, so who do I send then? Hayley?"

"Leave me out of this," Hayley said, putting her hands up.

"I don't care who goes," Jason said, "as long it's not you. Cause with your luck, you'll get brainwashed and I'll have to send Hayley after you anyways."

"I said to leave me out of it," Hayley exclaimed.

"Let's make the decision this way, then," Jason said, ignoring Hayley. "We'll spar for it."

"You're on," Tommy said.

"Don't mind them," Hayley said, shaking her head. "This is normal."

"You are so going down, dude," Jason said in the background.

"Yeah, right," Tommy said.

"Wow," Chloe said, looking at Hayley in surprise, "and here I thought Tommy at least was more mature than Clark and Oliver."

"Oh, this is nothing," Hayley said. "It's even worse when the whole group is here. There's a reason we don't have reunions that often. We've also outlawed alcohol. They break enough things sober."

"I still think we should change that rule," Jason called from off screen.

"Not happening," Hayley responded. "Go get ready."

"We'll be outside," Tommy said.

Their voices faded away and Hayley turned back to Chloe.

"But anyways, I'll call you back with an answer in a little while," she said. "I need to go referee before one of them does break something."

Hayley ended the call. Chloe turned to look at Clark and Oliver.

"Well," she said, "I guess we'll wait to hear back before we make any final decisions. I really don't want to mess with that machine without knowing how it works."

"How long do you think we'll have to wait?" Oliver asked.

"Not long, I'm sure," Chloe said. "I mean, how long could it take for their fight to end?"

"Is there any pizza left?" Oliver asked.

He and Clark were down at the table playing cards while Chloe was upstairs pacing in front of her computer.

"No," she said, moving to the railing and looking down at them. "You two finished that off a half hour ago."

"Darn," Oliver said, looking back at his cards.

"Are you really hungry again?" Chloe asked.

"No," he answered. "I'm bored. When are they going to call back?"

"I don't know," Chloe said. "I figured fifteen minutes max, but that was two hours ago. All we can do is wait. And yes, I already tried calling her."

"Go fish," Clark said to Oliver.

Oliver stared at him.

"Clark," he said. "We're playing gin, remember?"

"Oh," Clark said, surprised. "When did we change games?"

"About twenty minutes ago," Oliver said, throwing his cards on the table. "Are you sure we haven't missed the call, Chloe?"

"Yes, Oliver," she said shortly. "For the thousandth time, I'm sure."

"Why don't I just go grab the machine?" Clark asked. "I could have had it back here at least an hour ago."

"No, Clark," Chloe said. "I want to get it away from Lex as much as you do, but for all we know it could be made of something worse for you than Kryptonite. Not worth the risk."

"Chloe—"

"No," she said, glaring at him. "You aren't going anywhere near that thing until we have more information on it."

"Fine," Clark grumbled, turning back to Oliver. "Wanna play 'Go Fish'?"

Oliver groaned, leaning forward to lay his head on the table. Chloe turned back to staring at her computer while Clark tried to entertain himself with shuffling cards. A few minutes later a video call started ringing on the computer. Clark leapt up from the table, fast enough to send cards, table, and Oliver flying, and ran to stand next to Chloe as she answered the call.

"Clark!" Oliver yelled after him, shoving the overturned table off of himself. "Not cool!"

"Sorry, Oliver," Clark said sheepishly, looking down over the railing.

Oliver got out from under the table and hurried up the stairs, reaching the computer as the called finished connecting.

"Hey, Chloe," Hayley said. "Sorry about that."

"What took so long?" Chloe asked. "I was starting to think something had happened to all of you."

"Oh, well, they're really evenly matched," Hayley said. "So their sparring matches last a while, and they usually end in a tie."

"So after fighting for two hours, they tied?" Chloe exclaimed.

"Actually, no," Hayley said. "We have a decision. Tommy will not be coming due to his concussion."

"He cheated!" Tommy exclaimed.

He was sitting at a table in the background holding his head. Jason was standing next to him, holding an ice pack in his hand.

"It's not my fault you tripped, bro," Jason said.

"You tripped me!"

"It was an accident."

"Oh, sure," Tommy said. "You accidently stuck your foot right in front of mine."

"I was regaining my balance," Jason said. "And how was I supposed to know that rock was there? You really should pay more attention to what you're doing when you spar. I think old age is starting to catch up with you."

"Knock it off!" Hayley snapped, whipping around to face them. "I'm on the video chat."

"Ouch," Tommy said, holding his head again. "Don't yell, Hayley."

"Then stop acting juvenile," she said shortly before turning back to the computer. "Sorry, Chloe."

"Is he going to be ok?" Chloe asked.

"Tommy? Yes. He'll be fine. He fell down and hit his head on a rock while they were sparring," she said. "A minor concussion, but he's had plenty of those before."

"Jason cheated," Tommy insisted. "I wouldn't have hit my head if he hadn't tripped me."

"Dude, you lost," Jason said. "Get over it. And would you please take the ice pack? I can't feel my hand anymore."

"Would you two either be quiet for a minute or go back upstairs? I need to talk to Chloe."

Tommy glared at Jason, but took the ice pack and placed it gingerly against his head. They continued arguing quietly while Hayley talked to Chloe.

"Thank you," Hayley said. "Now, Chloe. We do have a backup plan. I have to make a few more phone calls first, but I'll have the details to you tonight. Try and keep an eye on Lex, if at all possible, but don't go after the machine before help gets there. If he activates it and one of you gets caught, there could be major problems."

Chloe, Clark, and Oliver could see Tommy getting more and more agitated behind Hayley. The voices of the two men started to get louder.

"Alright, Hayley," Chloe said. "I'll be waiting for the details. Thanks again for your help."

"Not a problem," Hayley said. "I'm going to go take care of those two, and then I'll finish getting things together."

"Stop calling me old!" Tommy snapped at Jason. "Or I'm going to show you just how wrong you are."

"Bring it on, bro," Jason said.

Tommy leapt up from his seat as Jason bolted across the room.

"Tommy!" Hayley yelled. "Sit down!"

He froze, looking at her.

"Bye, Chloe," Hayley said with a smile. "Now you two…"

As she ended the call, Chloe and the other two could hear her starting to scold Jason and Tommy. Clark and Oliver exchanged looks and shrugged while Chloe just shook her head.


	3. Meeting the Rangers

"Any word from Hayley yet?" Oliver asked. "I just got done with my meeting, so I'll be over in just a few minutes."

_"She called me this morning," _Chloe answered. _"Help is supposed to be arriving today. I haven't seen anyone yet though. I gave her the coordinates for Watchtower, so I hope they haven't gotten lost."_

"I'm sure they'll show up soon enough," he said.

Oliver stopped outside his office door and reached for the handle. But he froze before turning it. There were voices coming from inside, and no one was supposed to be in there.

"Chloe, I have to go," he said quietly. "I'll call you back soon."

Hanging up, Oliver leaned closer to the door to listen.

_"What is this?" _a man asked.

_ "It's a toy, Andros," _another man answered.

_ "Are there children here?" _Andros said.

_ "No," _the other man said_. "It's for distraction."_

_ "Who do you distract with it?"_

_ "Yourself. People use those to distract themselves from their work."_

_ "But they are working," _Andros said, clearly confused. _"Why would they be distracting themselves?"_

_ "Well—"_

_ "Just drop it, TJ," _a woman said, chiming in.

Deciding that he'd listened long enough, Oliver whipped the door open and quickly took in the scene in his office. There were two women sitting and talking on the couch on the far side of the room. They both had long hair, but one had very dark hair while the other's hair was a light brown.

"This guy has to be loaded," the brunette was saying. "I mean, check this place out."

"Well, they did say he was pretty wealthy," the other woman answered.

Near the girls, a Hispanic man with shoulder length dark hair was walking along the walls, studying the pictures and talking on the phone.

"Yes, I promise I'll come visit while I'm on earth… I know you got your diploma… Yes. I saw the pictures…"

And two more men were at Oliver's desk. One of them, a man with long brown hair streaked with blonde, was examining the objects on his desk while the other one, a large dark-skinned man, was lounging in his chair. All of them immediately stopped what they were doing and stared when he burst into the room.

"What is going on in here?" Oliver demanded, striding forward toward his desk.

No one answered right away. They all just stared at Oliver in shock, the man on the phone hanging up and sticking his phone in his pocket.

"Ok. You," Oliver said, taking the aggressive and pointing at the man sitting in his chair. "Out of my chair."

"Sorry, dude," the man said, quickly moving out of the chair. "Not trying to invade your space."

"Now, who are you?" Oliver asked again, glaring around the room. "And, more importantly, what are you doing in my office?"

"Hey, relax" said the man who had been in the chair. "We're friends of Tommy. He said you'd be expecting us. You are Oliver Queen, right?"

Oliver was silent for a moment, processing what the man had said.

"I'm Andros," the man with the blonde streaks said, stepping forward. "KO-35, Red Ranger. We were told you were expecting us."

"I was expecting someone," Oliver said, "but not in my office."

"Well, this is the address Hayley gave us," the brunette said, walking over and holding out a hand. "Ashley, Yellow Ranger."

"I'm going to kill her," Oliver muttered, shaking her hand. "How did all of you get in here without anyone seeing you? No one told me I had guests waiting in here."

"D.E.C.A. dropped us off," Andros said. "We came here because Hayley said this is where we were supposed to go. Were we supposed to go somewhere else?"

Oliver groaned, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Ok," Oliver said. "I don't know who or what D.E.C.A. is, but you really shouldn't be in here. You're gonna blow my cover. I just can't have people appearing in here. The wrong people will start asking too many questions."

"We don't want to blow your cover," Andros said, frowning. "What do you need us to do?"

"I need to get you out of here without anyone seeing," Oliver said, dialing his phone. "I'm going to call and see if Chloe has any ideas. Maybe Clark can help…"

While Oliver was dialing his phone, the rangers exchanged looks. They all moved to stand by Andros, who was looking at the morpher on his wrist.

"Chloe?" Oliver was saying, no longer paying attention to the rangers. "We have a problem… No. I found Tommy's help. Hayley sent them to my office… Yes, I realize that's not the best place for them to be… That's why I'm calling. No one saw them come in and now I have to get them out somehow…"

He paused, listening to Chloe.

"Where do you need us to be?" Andros asked.

"Watchtower," Oliver said, rattling off the address without thinking. "It's only a few blocks over, but it's going to be tricky getting you all down to the street."

"D.E.C.A.," Andros said as Oliver continued discussing options with Chloe. "Transport us to the new coordinates."

"What are you talking about?" Oliver asked, turning around.

Andros didn't answer, he just put a hand on Oliver's shoulder.

"No, Chloe," Oliver said, reaching up to remove Andros' hand, "We haven't left the off—"

The world suddenly blurred around Oliver and he froze. When everything was clear again he looked around in shock, trying to process what had just happened.

"Oliver? What—How did—" Chloe said, still holding the phone to her ear. "Where did you come from? How did you do that?"

"D.E.C.A. transported us," Andros said, holding up a wrist and showing her a morpher as he stepped away from Oliver.

"Who's D.E.C.A.?" Chloe asked in confusion, heading down the stairs.

"She's our computer," Andros said. "D.E.C.A. runs everything on the Astro Megaship."

"So that's how you got in my office?" Oliver asked, snapping out of his stupor. "You teleported?"

"Yes," Andros said. "Hayley told us to be careful. And when you said you didn't want your cover blown, I thought transporting would be the best way to avoid notice."

"Some warning would have been nice," Oliver muttered.

"I'm Chloe," Chloe said, holding out a hand to Andros and glaring at Oliver. "Codename, Watchtower. I run this place and keep the JLA members connected with each other. You've already met Oliver, also known as Green Arrow. You'll meet some of the others later."

"Andros, the red ranger," Andros said, shaking her hand. "And this is my team. TJ, the blue ranger; Carlos, the green ranger; Cassie, the pink ranger; and Ashley, the yellow ranger. Our silver ranger, Zhane, and my sister Karone stayed on the Astro Megaship to monitor things."

"It's great to meet you all," Chloe said. "Welcome to Watchtower."

"Thanks," Ashley said. "It's great to be back on earth for a visit. Although I have to admit, I'm a little nervous being in Metropolis after that article from last year. It was a good article, but it did bring the spotlight back on us again in the area."

"Don't worry," Chloe said. "There's always something new popping up here. I don't think you'll be mobbed as badly as you think."

"Yeah, as long as none of them are as bad as that reporter who interviewed us," Cassie said. "She was a little high strung."

Oliver, coughed, trying not to laugh as Chloe elbowed him.

"Hi!" a new voice called from the elevator. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Ah!" Cassie squeaked. "What is she doing here?"

"Hi, Lois," Chloe said, elbowing Oliver again as he started choking. "What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for Clark. What are they doing here?"

"They came to help us with something," Chloe said. "And Clark isn't here. I sent him on a run to check on Lex's progress. He was going to head to the farm for chores afterward. Why don't you go give him a call?"

"Oh," Lois said, and then she turned back to the rangers. "It's great to see you all again. How have you been since last year? Anything exciting happen?"

They didn't answer, just staring at her in shock.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lois said. "You're probably all discussing something I'm not supposed to hear again, right? If you let me stay, Chlo, I promise not to write any stories about it."

"Umm… I have a better idea, Lois," Chloe said, taking a look at the rangers' expressions. "Oliver needs to find a way to get back into his office without anyone seeing, so that he can be seen leaving later this afternoon. Why don't you help him with that?"

"He needs to get in so he can leave?" Lois asked in confusion. "That makes absolutely no sense."

"He'll explain on the way," Chloe said, elbowing Oliver again to make him nod. "But it has something to do with keeping his cover intact."

"Oh," Andros said. "I didn't think about that, but I can help. I'll just—"

"No!" Oliver said, leaping away as Andros reached out to touch his shoulder. "No more teleporting."

He grabbed Lois by the arm and started dragging her toward the elevator.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"We're going to call Clark," Oliver said. "He can help me get back inside."

"You have some serious issues, Ollie," Lois said, shaking her head as the elevator doors closed.

Chloe and the rangers all let out sighs of relief.

"So you know her?" TJ says. "That must mean you're the ones Tommy was telling us about. The Reefside incident?"

"Yeah, that was us," Chloe said. "The interview with you was Tommy's way of keeping the story out of the papers."

"This is so taking care of any favors we still owe him," TJ muttered.

"So she's part of your team?" Andros asked. "What do you call her?"

"Well, she's not one of the heroes," Chloe said. "She does write most of their press though. And as for what we call her, well, most of the time just Lois."

"And the rest of the time?" TJ asked.

"Trouble," Chloe said. "Because she can't seem to stay out of it."

The rangers laughed.

"Anyways," Chloe said. "While they're off dealing with keeping Oliver's cover, why don't I take you to get settle in? We'll want to make plans before we do anything and Watchtower isn't the most comfortable place to spend the night."

"So where are we staying?" Andros asked.

"The Kent farm," Chloe answered, grabbing her purse and keys. "Clark's home. We set up the loft as a sleeping space that you can use while you're here."

"A loft?" Cassie said. "You mean we're sleeping in the barn?"

"Don't worry," Chloe said. "That barn doesn't house any animals. Unless you count Shelby. But he just goes where he wants to."

"Who is Shelby?" Andros asked.

"Clark's dog," Chloe answered heading toward the elevator. "Come on. I'm parked just down the street."


	4. The Farm

"Ouch!" Cassie exclaimed, rubbing her elbow where she had hit it on the door.

"Sorry about the bumps," Chloe said, apologizing again. "I was going to borrow Clark's truck, but he had the keys."

All six of them were crowded into Chloe's small bug. Cassie, Ashley, Andros, and TJ were crowded in the back with the bags. Cassie was sitting on TJ's lap while Ashley was on Andros'. Carlos, as the only ranger without a significant other present, had claimed the front seat next to Chloe.

"And that's why it's better to travel without your girlfriend," he said, looking back and grinning.

"Maybe I should have stayed on the station," Cassie muttered. "We wouldn't be crowded then."

"Quit complaining, Cass," TJ said, kissing her shoulder. "It isn't that bad. At least it's a convertible so we aren't hitting our heads."

She leaned back against him.

"How close are we, Chloe?" Ashley asked, leaning forward to look out the windshield.

"Not too far," she answered. "Sorry!"

They hit another bump and Andros had to tighten his grip around Ashley's waist to keep her from landing on Cassie. She leaned back again, not wanting to fall.

"We're here!" Chloe announced, turning into the driveway.

"Finally," Cassie said as they came to a stop. "It feels like we've been on the road for hours."

TJ just shook his head as they all climbed out of the car. Grabbing their things, the rangers followed Chloe across the yard to the barn.

"This is where you'll be staying," Chloe said. "Everything is already set for you upstairs. Come on, I'll show you."

Chloe led the way into the barn and up into the loft. The rangers looked around, setting their things off to the side.

"This is nice," Ashley said. "I was expecting something more barnlike…"

"This used to be Clark's hideout when we were younger," Chloe said, smiling. "Sometimes I still find him up here, staring through that telescope. Wait a minute. Where's Andros?"

"Not again…" Cassie said.

"Let's just go find him," TJ said.

Everyone headed back out of the barn. They spread out, trying to find him. Chloe was walking past one of the pastures when she finally spotted him. When she did, she stared in surprise.

"Andros," Chloe said when he stopped next to her. "What are you doing?"

The ranger was riding one of the cows that had been out in the pasture.

"She wanted to come back here," he answered, glancing down at the cow.

"So why are you riding her?" Chloe asked.

"It seemed like the most sensible way to come back with her," he answered.

The rest of the team came running up while Chloe continued to stare in shock.

"There you are," Ashley said.

"Man, you really should tell us before you take off like that," TJ said.

"That way we know where you are instead of having to come looking for you," Cassie added.

Chloe turned around to look at the rangers.

"Have none of you noticed that Andros is riding a cow?" she exclaimed.

"What?" said TJ. "Oh, right. Well, to be honest, that's not the weirdest thing we've seen him do."

Andros slid down off the cow and joined them. He didn't seem at all concerned about what had just taken place.

"What else has he done?" Chloe asked.

"Trust me," TJ said. "Just leave it alone."

Chloe didn't say anything, she just shook her head.

"Really, Clark," Oliver complained as the elevator opened. "You had to carry me bridal style?"

"Well, what was I supposed to do?" Clark answered. "Throw you over my shoulder like a sack of potatoes?"

"I think I would have preferred that…" Oliver grumbled, stepping out into Watchtower. "Where did everyone go?"

Clark zipped over to the table. Chloe had left a note.

_Decided not to wait for the three of you. Headed back to the farm with the rangers. Meet us for dinner once you're done at the office._

_ -Chloe_

_P.S. Don't forget Lois._

"I guess that answers that question," Clark said. "Head out to the truck. I'll go get Lois."

"This is gonna be a long night," Oliver grumbled heading back to the elevator as Clark sped away.

Inside the Kent farmhouse, the rangers lounged in the living room while Chloe stepped out on the porch to make a phone call.

"Hey, Lois," she said. "Have you three left Metropolis yet?"

_"Yep," _Lois replied. _"We're almost to Smallville. Can you check the kitchen for me? I want to make spaghetti for dinner, but I can't remember if I have any pasta."_

Chloe sighed.

"I'll check," she said. "If you need anything, you guys can pick it up in town."

_"See you soon," _Lois said.

Hanging up, Chloe headed back inside. Ashley and Cassie were wandering around the living room looking at pictures. Carlos and TJ had plopped down in front of the TV and were debating over channel choices.

"Hey guys," Chloe said. "Where's Andros?"

"He went in there," TJ answered, gesturing to the door behind him.

"Why did he go in the kitchen?" Chloe asked.

"That's your kitchen?" Carlos said, glancing back at her.

"I found the Synthetron," Andros said, coming back into the room. "But it appears to be broken."

"Synthetron?" Chloe said, looking at Andros in confusion.

"That's not a Synthetron, Andros," TJ said without getting up. "It's a microwave."

"What's a microwave?" Andros asked.

TJ turned his head to look at Andros.

"Well," he said. "You put already made food inside to warm it up."

"So it's a heater?" Andros said.

"Close enough," answered TJ. "But only for food."

Andros nodded, then turned and walked back into the kitchen.

"Should he be in there unsupervised?" Chloe asked, glancing back and forth between the rangers and the kitchen door.

"He'll be fine," Carlos said. "It'll only take him a few minutes to figure out what he should and shouldn't touch. Especially if something is hot."

"Nothing should be hot," Chloe said, panic creeping into her voice as she headed for the kitchen. "The stove should not be on right now."

The rangers exchanged looks, and then shrugged before returning to what they were doing. Chloe walked into the kitchen to find Andros examining the toaster.

"What's this?" he asked, turning to look at Chloe.

"That's the toaster," Chloe answered, pulling open a few cupboards and starting to pull out the ingredients for spaghetti. "It cooks bread."

"But how do you get the bread out?" he said. "The holes are too small to remove a loaf through."

"No," Chloe said, shaking her head. "You put slices of bread in there. It heats them up until the slices are crispy. Then you put butter and jam on them."

"Hmm…" Andros said, moving on to the next device on the counter. "What's this?"

"That's a blender," Chloe said with a sigh.

Clark's truck pulling into the driveway saved her from trying to explain anything else though. Deciding it was safe enough to leave Andros alone for a few minutes, Chloe headed out to greet Clark, Oliver, and Lois.

"We're home," Lois said as the three walked in the door.

"You again!" Cassie yelped when she saw Lois. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Lois said, raising an eyebrow. "Chloe, did we have everything for spaghetti?"

Without waiting for an answer, Lois headed straight into the kitchen.

"She lives here?" Cassie asked once Lois was out of the room.

"Oh, sorry," Chloe said. "Yes. She lives here with Clark."

"Oh," Cassie said.

"Don't worry," said Clark. "She promised no interrogations or interviews tonight."

"Besides," Oliver added. "She'll be busy making dinner for a while."

A whirring sound started coming from the kitchen and Chloe whipped around.

"I forgot to warn Lois about Andros," she said.

"Just leave them, Chloe," TJ said, still on the couch. "No one is screaming. They'll be fine."

"It's not them I'm worried about," Chloe said. "It's the kitchen. And dinner."

An hour later, dinner was finally ready. Everyone sat down at the table and Lois started dishing out lumps of spaghetti. Clark started passing the sauce and meatballs around the table.

"Umm… Are we supposed to need a knife to eat the spaghetti?" Cassie asked, looking down at her plate.

"You get used to it," Clark said with a shrug, digging in.

"Got any ketchup?" TJ asked, scooping a pile of meatballs next to his spaghetti.

"Sure," Clark said, speeding to the fridge and back. "Here you go."

"Thanks," TJ said, dumping ketchup on the meatballs.

Setting the bottle down, he dug in and started eating.

"Are you going to eat something with that ketchup?" Oliver asked.

"Don't mind him," Carlos said. "He puts ketchup on everything."

"This is really good," TJ said, swallowing.

"Really?" Lois exclaimed, smiling.

"Really?" Oliver said, surprised.

Clark and Chloe exchanged looks.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?" TJ asked.

"Well," Clark said slowly. "People don't usually compliment Lois' cooking."

"Thanks, Clark," Lois said, glaring at him. "You know I don't have to make you anything."

"I was just saying," he protested. "And you know I always eat whatever you cook. Even if it is burnt to a crisp."

"I didn't burn anything tonight," she said with a huff.

"Then what's that smell?" Chloe asked, frowning.

Lois sniffed. She paled and leapt up from her chair, bolting into the kitchen. A moment later she came back into the dining room holding a tray.

"Ok, so I burnt the garlic bread," she said, sliding the overly crispy pieces onto an empty serving plate. "But they aren't burnt all over. There are unburnt spots."

"That's ok, Lois," TJ said, grabbing a piece and putting it on his plate. "We don't get food like this very often. I think I miss earth more for the food than anything else…"

"We always have food," Andros said. "The Synthetron on the Astro Megaship is programmed with plenty of food options from KO-35."

"Exactly," TJ responded, taking a bite of the garlic bread.

Andros shrugged. Putting out a hand, he pointed at the salt which was on the other end of the table. It floated up into the air and straight to his hand. The rangers just kept eating, but Chloe, Clark, Oliver, and Lois stared at Andros in shock.

"What just happened?" Oliver finally got out. "How did you do that?"

"I wanted it to come, so it did," Andros said, and then held out the salt to Oliver. "Did you need this?"

"No," Oliver said shaking his head.

"Andros has telekinesis," Ashley said, smiling at Andros. "We're all used to it, so we didn't think about telling you."

"Telekinesis explains it," Chloe said. "So you can move anything?"

"Just smaller objects," Andros said. "The bigger something is, the more difficult it is to move."

"Why can't you do that Clark?" Oliver asked. "That'd be useful."

"Yes," Clark said drily, "because super-speed, super-strength, super-hearing, super-breath, x-ray vision, heat-vision, and near invulnerability aren't enough. Not to mention I can jump over buildings."

"But you can't fly," Oliver said with a grin.

"I'm working on it," Clark protested.

"We fly with our galaxy gliders," Andros said.

"Clark is supposed to be able to fly," Oliver said. "But he has some problems with it. When was the last time you worked with Kara, Clark?"

"A few months ago," he said. "But she has her own life now. I'll deal with my problem on my own."

"Who's Kara?" Ashley asked.

"Clark's cousin," Chloe answered. "His actual cousin, from Krypton. They're the only two remaining that we know of."

"Unless we count the Kandorians," Oliver said.

"But they're clones," Chloe said. "And they're not even in this dimension anymore. So I wouldn't count them."

"Anyways," Clark interrupted, standing up. "I'm gonna go do my chores. I'll be back in a little while."

Clark cleared his place, speeding away. The rest of the group kept talking as they finished up dinner. After everyone was done eating, they cleaned up and the rangers headed out to the barn.

"We'll start planning first thing in the morning," Chloe said as they went out to the loft. "I want to make sure we're all on the same page for facing Lex."

"We'll help in any way we can," Andros said, following the rest of his team out the door.

Chloe wandered back into the kitchen. Clark was back and helping Lois with the dishes. Oliver was leaning against the counter, watching.

"We're going to head out," Chloe said, glancing at Oliver. "Can you get the rangers to Watchtower in the morning? I want to start planning as early as we can."

"Sure," Clark said, glancing over. "We can all pile in my truck. After I drop Lois off at the Planet we'll head over."

"Tomorrow is going to be a long day," Oliver said, following Chloe to the door.


	5. The Mission

_Only a few more chapters before we bring this one to a close. Let us know what you're thinking of the story so far we love hearing form you! R&R :)_

Chloe and Olive were already in Watchtower the next morning when Clark and the rangers came in.

"Have a seat," Chloe called from upstairs. "We'll be right down."

Oliver joined them first, taking a seat at the table. After a few more minutes, Chloe joined them.

"How was your night at the farm?" Chloe asked.

"It was good," Andros said.

"We ate breakfast with Lois and Clark," Ashley added. "I think it was supposed to be eggs, bacon, and toast. Andros helped with the toast…"

Chloe looked at Andros, but he just shrugged.

"Anyways," Chloe said. "We need to make a plan. Lex knows we'll come after that machine, so he'll be waiting. I don't want to have to go in and rescue anyone."

"We don't know a lot about your Lex Luthor," Andros said. "What should we expect?"

"Well, a lot of Kryptonite," Chloe said, glancing at Clark. "He knows what Clark is, or at least he suspects. And he plans for it. There will be Kryptonite there and at least one trap waiting. He also hates Green Arrow."

"What did you two do to the guy?" TJ asked.

"Long story," Oliver said. "At least with Clark. He just doesn't like me because I keep getting in the way."

"We know how that goes," Carlos said. "The bad guys were always complaining about us getting in the way."

"Alright," Chloe said. "Let's focus. Do you guys know anything about the machine that we should be worried about when retrieving it?"

The rangers looked at each other.

"Don't sit in it," Andros said. "Especially if it is on. Other than that, there's nothing. It can't hurt you if you're not hooked up to it."

"That makes things a little easier," Chloe said.

"So do you have a plan then, Chloe?" Clark asked.

Chloe nodded.

"I'm going to send you and Oliver after the machine," Chloe said. "I want you to search ahead, carefully, to find it. Oliver is going to follow in case the machine is in a room with Kryptonite. While you two are gone, we'll monitor things from here. If something goes wrong, the rangers will be able to step in and get you two out."

"And you just want the machine back here?" Clark said.

"Yes," Chloe answered. "This is the only place Lex doesn't know about, so he won't be able to find it here."

"Ok," Clark said. "So I go in, watch out for Kryptonite, grab the machine, and bring it back here. Right?"

"Essentially," Chloe said, looking down at her computer for a moment. "Now—"

Clark was gone. The rangers looked surprised, but Oliver just groaned.

"What part of I was going with him did he miss?" he muttered, standing up. "Chloe, you know which facility?"

"Yes," Chloe said. "And if Clark had waited I would have told him that. But at least you can head straight there."

"Send me the coordinates," Oliver said as he headed out, "and any other information you think I should have."

"Good luck," said Andros.

Clark sped into the research complex at full speed, coming to a stop behind a large pile of crates. He had already checked several other facilities with no luck. The first two had been empty, abandoned by Lex when his projects failed. The others were still functioning, but there had been no sign of the brain-drain machine. He was being cautious, knowing Lex would be expecting him. Scanning the building from the outside, Clark found several rooms he wasn't able to see into. The lead-lined rooms were the most likely housing points for the device.

Taking a deep breath, Clark sped into the building. He ran top speed, checking in all of the other rooms before heading to the first lead-lined space. Pausing briefly outside of the first one, Clark opened the door and peered inside. Dozens of shelves lined the room, and each one held kryptonite in some form. Even from outside the door, Clark could feel the effects of the Kryptonite. But there was no sign of the machine inside.

"Glad the machine isn't in there," Clark muttered, slamming the door shut and leaning against it.

He paused for a moment, allowing his strength to return, and then sped off toward the next room. The next two were larger rooms and seemed like good candidates to house the brain-drain machine, but both only held more Kryptonite.

"Chloe was right," Clark said to himself, shutting the door to another room of Kryptonite. "Running into lead-lined rooms without looking is definitely a bad idea. Especially when Lex is involved."

There was only one room left. It was small, the size of a storage closet more than a lab, but it was the only place left to search in the building. Stopping outside the door, Clark took a deep breath and yanked it open. He braced himself for the weakening affects of Kryptonite, but they never came. Stepping inside of the room, Clark took a look around. Sitting off to one side was the machine he had been looking for. No one was in the room with it. It was hooked up and it looked like Lex had been running some tests with the machine.

"Finally," Clark said.

He moved over to the machine and started unhooking it, being careful not to activate anything. As Clark started shifting things around, he created a dust cloud. The dust tickled his nose and, before Clark could stop himself, he sneezed. The force of the sneeze sent a shelf full of equipment flying across the room. Clark froze, hoping he hadn't attracted any attention. For a moment, nothing happened and he thought he was safe. Then an alarm started blaring. Grabbing the machine, Clark sped out of the building before it finished locking down.

Green Arrow lowered himself down the side of the building to a window. It was unlocked, so he slipped inside and looked around. No one was in the room.

"Green Arrow to Watchtower," he said quietly. "I'm at the facility. I'll let you know when I've found Boyscout."

All he got in reply was static.

"Great," Green Arrow muttered. "Something is messing with the transmission. Guess I'm going in blind."

He was just starting to move away from the window when an alarm started blaring. Green ARrow jumped and turned around, but a metal barrier had already slammed shut over the window.

"Just what I needed," Green Arrow said, turning back around. "I guess I'd better go get Clark, because the alarm probably means he's stuck somewhere."

Moving to the doorway, he peered out. Once he was certain the hallway was clear, Green Arrow started making his way toward the heart of the facility. Chloe had been fairly certain the brain-drain device would be housed toward the center. The blueprints she had gotten a hold of indicated that there was a small lab there. A perfect place for Lex to hide the machine, away from the general population of his employees. As he crept down the hallway, Green Arrow made sure to avoid the cameras as best he could, moving quickly across the screen of those he couldn't.

"Where are you Clark?" he said, peering into another room.

There was still no sign of Clark, and the facility was eerily empty. He hadn't even seen a security guard. As he approached his destination, voices caught Green Arrow's attention. He moved silently to the door as the volume of the voices increased, pushing on it gently to see if it was open. The door swung slightly and Green Arrow froze, ready to run if anyone noticed. When the occupants of the room didn't even pause, Green Arrow opened the door just a little more so that he could see into the room. Lex was standing in the middle of the room, screaming at a man in a security uniform. Several more men were standing off to the side.

"How could you let him get away!" Lex yelled, grabbing the front of the man's shirt. "You were supposed to be watching for him!"

"We never saw him, Mr. Luthor," the man stammered. "It was like the machine disappeared into thin air. There was never anyone there."

"He was there," Lex snapped. "Or my machine would still be here. And if he gets away, you're going to be the one to pay for it."

Green Arrow froze. Clark had already come and gone, which meant he needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. As he started backing away from the door, Green Arrow saw Lex's head turn and a flash of surprise passed across his face. He dropped the security guard. Green Arrow ran. As he bolted down the hallway, Green Arrow heard Lex screaming behind him.

"GET HIM!"


	6. Success

_"Green Arrow to Watchtower. I'm at the facility. I'll let you know when I've found Boyscout."_

"Keep me updated, Green Arrow," Chloe answered.

There was no response from Green Arrow. Chloe frowned.

"Green Arrow?" she said. "Come in Green Arrow."

Clark ran into Watchtower, stopping in the middle of the room and depositing the brain-drain machine on the ground. Chloe, who was standing by her computer with the rangers, turned around in surprise.

"Clark?" she said. "What are you doing here?"

"Sorry it took so long, Chloe," Clark said. "I was moving a little slower because I had a lot of lead-lined rooms to check before I found it."

The rangers moved to take a look at the machine Clark had set down. Chloe looked at him in confusion for a moment.

"What? Never mind," Chloe said, shaking her head. "Where is Oliver?"

"Isn't he here?" Clark asked, looking around.

"No," Chloe said, gripping the railing. "I sent him after you in case you needed backup."

"What? But when I left there were alarms going off and the building was locking down," Clark said. "Lex isn't going to be happy I took the machine, and if he catches Oliver…"

"I know," Chloe said. "But I can't get him to answer. Something is interfering with the signal."

"Try again, Chloe," Clark said. "We need to know if he's inside."

"Watchtower to Green Arrow," she said into the com. "Green Arrow, report."

_"Lex… trap…" _was all that came through.

"Green Arrow," Chloe said frantically, "get out of there."

There was no reply, just static. Chloe turned to look at Clark, panic on her face, but he was already gone.

Green Arrow slid quickly into the ventilation shaft. It was a tight squeeze, but it was the only option. Something was still interfering with the com system, so he couldn't even tell Chloe or Clark where he was in the building. He had been able to connect for a brief second, but he wasn't sure what Chloe had heard. Dropping down into an empty hallway, Green Arrow sprinted for a new room along the outside wall of the building, hoping for an open window or anything that got him outside.

"Great," he muttered when the sound of running footsteps echoed down the hall behind him. "Just what I need right now."

Still not finding any open windows, he slid into another vent. But every time he exited the vents, Green Arrow could only get a few yards before someone was on him. They were slowly backing him into a corner and he was running out of options. Dropping down into a dark room, Green Arrow made for the door to try and put some more distance between him and the men chasing him. But before he could reach it, a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back. Green Arrow kicked, knocking his attacker back as the lights came on. The room was full of Lex's men. Groaning, Green Arrow prepared to fight his way out as the men advanced.

Clark raced at top speed back to the research facility. When he arrived, the entire building was locked down. All of the doors and windows had been covered by thick metal barriers. Using his x-ray vision to scan into the building again, Clark found it swarming with people who seemed to be chasing someone.

"Oliver," Clark muttered. "Where are you?"

He finally spotted a small group of men engaged in a struggle. Several of them were holding a single figure between them, who was struggling to break free. Knowing it had to be Oliver, Clark sped around the building to find the closest spot he could. He passed a propane tank that was connected to the building. Quickly checking to make sure no one was in the immediate vicinity, Clark focused his heat vision on the tank. It exploded, shaking the entire building. Using the explosion as a distraction, Clark started smashing through the walls, heading toward where Oliver was being held.

Green Arrow spun, moving quickly out of the way of yet another man. He was hard-pressed to fight in the enclosed space. There were too many men and not enough space to move around. Green Arrow couldn't even use his bow. One man grabbed a hold of his arm, jerking Green Arrow around. Another of the men grabbed him as well. Struggling hard, Green Arrow tried to free himself. Leering, one of the men approached holding the leg of a chair in his hand. Green Arrow fought harder, realizing that the man intended to knock him unconscious. Probably to take him to Lex.

But an explosion suddenly rocked the building, knocking several of the men to the ground. Green Arrow broke loose, ready to make a run for it. But before the men could recover, the wall of the room exploded inward, sending debris flying. Green Arrow ducked and rolled, managing to avoid the worst of it. In a matter of a few seconds, all of Lex's men were tied together in a corner and Clark came to a stop in front of Green Arrow.

"What took you so long?" Green Arrow asked. "And what part of 'AND' didn't you understand when Chloe went over the plan?"

"Let's just get out of here," Clark said. "There's more on the way."

Clark led the way out of the building through several smashed doors and walls. Green Arrow could see twisted metal where Clark had ripped things out of the way. Moving quickly, they vacated the premises and headed back to Watchtower.

"So what now?" Clark asked, staring at the machine.

They were all back in Watchtower and Chloe had patched up Oliver. Now they were poking at the machine, trying to decide what to do with it.

"I'm not sure," Chloe said. "I don't have anywhere to store it here."

"Oh, you're not keeping it," Andros said, coming downstairs.

He had been upstairs speaking to Tommy on Chloe's computer.

"What?" Chloe said. "Why not?"

"Tommy doesn't want us leaving it here," Andros said.

"We aren't going to use it," Chloe said defensively.

"Relax, Chloe," TJ said. "We know you wouldn't use it."

"Tommy is afraid one of you might accidently get caught in the machine," Andros said. "If that happens, the results could be disastrous. He said he didn't want to have to deal with the fall out."

"I guess that makes sense," Chloe said. "So what do we do then, destroy it?"

"No," Andros said. "We're taking it back to Tommy. He wants to run some tests on it before we lock it up for good. Clark?"

"What is it, Andros?" Clark said.

"Could you take the machine to Reefside?" he asked. "Tommy said the sooner he could get it, the better."

"He's probably trying to hide it from Jason and Hayley," Oliver said. "They won't be happy if they see it."

Andros shrugged.

"Tommy's the expert on it," he said. "I will do as he asks."

"I'll take it," Clark said, picking up the machine. "Be back in a few hours."


	7. Lois!

Lois fumbled with her keys in the dim light of the parking garage, trying to unlock her car. She was heading home for the night after a long day of spell checking her own articles.

"Clark picked a great day to go play hero," she muttered as she finally got the key in the lock. "I'm so not saving dinner for him."

"Lois Lane?" a voice said behind her.

Lois reached a hand into her purse, grabbing her can of mace as she turned around. Several men were standing near a black car. One of them had approached her. She stared for a moment.

"Do I know you?" she asked, frowning. "You look familiar."

"Miss Lane," he said, ignoring her questions. "My employer requests your immediate presence."

Something told Lois she really didn't want to go with the men.

"You employer is going to have to be disappointed," Lois answered, tightening her grip on the mace and starting to pull it out. "Because I'm going home."

"I'm afraid you don't have a choice," the man answered, grabbing her arm.

Lois dropped her purse as she pulled out the mace. She sprayed the man directly in the face and he dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. Forgetting about her purse, Lois spun around and yanked open the car door. But before she could get inside and drive away, two more men grabbed her from behind and pulled her away. Lois kicked and screamed, trying to break free of the men, but she couldn't get loose.

"Clark!" Lois screamed.

One of the men clapped a hand over her nose and mouth, covering them with a damp cloth. Lois tried to turn away, but lost the fight as the ether took effect. She slumped in their arms as the world went dark.

"I'm back, Chloe," Clark called as he walked in to Watchtower.

He had just delivered the brain-drain machine to Tommy.

"Thank goodness," Chloe said. "I've been trying to contact you."

"What's going on?" he asked. "I wasn't gone that long."

"We have another problem," she said, looking at Clark. "It seems Lex struck in more than one fashion after you took the machine."

"What are you talking about?" Clark asked.

Chloe hit a few keys and a video popped up on the screen.

"This started broadcasting about an hour ago," she said. "It's coming from the same facility the brain-drain machine was at."

The video showed Lois chained to a chair in the middle of a room. She was unconscious and hooked up to some kind of machine. A green liquid glowed inside of it. On one side, they could see a clock blinking

"Kryptonite," Chloe said grimly. "And there's more in the room. I'm betting that this is where all of the missing Kryptonite is."

"We still have to go get her," Clark said.

"I know, Clark," Chloe said. "But there was a message with the video."

She pulled it up on the screen so they could see. The rangers had joined them and were standing quietly behind the trio.

_Return the machine to me or I will be using Miss Lane as a test subject for my newest experiment. How do you think she will hold up to a direct injection of liquid meteor rock? You have until sunset._

"That'll kill her!" Clark exclaimed, ready to take off.

"And if you go running in there Lex will kill you," Chloe snapped.

"We're running out of time," Oliver said, glancing out the window. "We don't have a choice."

"We have to find another way," Chloe said. "Because we can't give him the machine."

"We aren't going to," Clark said. "Oliver and I are going to go get her."

"There's too much Kryptonite, Clark," she said. "You won't make it two steps into that room before you collapse."

"I'll distract Lex while Oliver goes in to get Lois," Clark answered. "Once she is clear, I can take down the rest of the facility."

"That thing is on a timer, Clark," Chloe said, shaking her head. "You might be able to get over there quickly, but it's not going to be easy getting into that room. And even if he gets in there in time, how is Oliver supposed to get those chains off of her before time is up?"

"We have to try, Chloe," Oliver said. "We can't just leave her there."

"I don't want the two of you ending up dead either," she said. "Let's pull together some of the spare machine parts we have around Watchtower. Maybe we can pass them off as the smashed remains of the machine long enough to get to Lois."

"It wouldn't matter even if we took the real machine," Oliver said, shaking his head. "Lex has her and he's not going to let her go."

"He'll just use her to try and control me," Clark said. "He may not have any solid proof of who I am, but he knows. Just like he knows I would do anything to keep Lois safe."

Chloe groaned in frustration, trying to figure out another way.

"I have a suggestion," Andros said.

"What is it?" Chloe asked.

"Let us go," he answered, gesturing to the team. "Lex won't be expecting us."

"But what about the chains?" Chloe asked.

"Our astro blasters can break it," TJ said. "So that won't be a problem."

"And my galaxy glider can carry an extra," Andros said. "We'll break her out and be gone before Lex Luthor knows what happened."

Chloe glanced at Clark and Oliver. They both nodded.

"Go for it," Chloe said. "It's the only thing Lex hasn't planned for at this point. I'll monitor from here. Call if you need help."

"We will," Andros said. "Ready, rangers?"

The others nodded and they all pulled out their morphers.

"Let's rocket!" Andros said.

"That's the facility down there," Andros said.

Taking their galaxy gliders, the rangers had flown from Watchtower. The facility was on high alert. Gliding above the surveillance systems, the rangers could see Lex's men stationed everywhere.

"Lois will be inside," Andros said. "I want the four of you to distract Lex and his men while I get inside and find her."

"Got it, Andros," TJ said. "Good luck."

Andros split off from the group, circling to come in from the back while the other four headed straight down toward the entrance to the building.

"Why am I here, Lex Luthor?" Lois demanded when he walked in the room.

She was still chained to the chair, the headpiece raised up. Lex stopped in front of her.

"It's simple, Miss Lane," he said. "Either your superhero friends return the original machine to me, or I test my prototype on you."

"Are you insane?" she said. "Who knows what this thing could do to me. It could kill me!"

"Then you'd better hope the Blur comes to save you again, Miss Lane," Lex answered. "Because otherwise we'll be finding out the hard way."

"You're going to regret this, Lex," Lois said, tugging against the chains. "The Blur won't fall into your trap."

Before Lex could answer, one of his men came running into the room.

"Sir," he said, "There's a disturbance out front."

"He's here," Lex said, immediately heading toward the door.

Lois was left alone, still attached to the brain-drain prototype.

"You'd better not get caught, Smallville," she muttered.

"What's going on?" Lex asked in surprise when he stepped outside.

The Kryptonite trap he had set for the Blur had failed. The noise outside the facility was extreme, guns going off and people yelling everywhere.

"We're not sure, Mr. Luthor," his bodyguard said. "The attack came out of nowhere."

"Well who's behind it?" Lex screamed, rounding on the other man.

"They are," he answered, pointing.

Four power rangers flew into sight, riding on gliders, and Lex stared in surprise.

"Power Rangers!" he exclaimed. "What are they doing here?"

"We're here for you, Luthor!" the blue ranger called as they all leapt off of their gliders, landing on the stairs in front of Lex.

"Let's go, Rangers!" TJ called as they headed in closer.

As they approached the facility, shots started ringing out. The guards were firing on them. Making a sharp turn, the rangers headed for the men on the roof.

"Make sure your blasters are set to stun," TJ said. "We don't want to kill anyone."

"You got it, TJ," Carlos said.

They flew in at full speed, using their blasters to stun the men on the roof. A few bullets ricocheted off of the gliders, coming from below.

"Why are we here again?" Cassie said, dodging another spray of bullets.

"Because we can't let Luthor hurt Lois," TJ answered. "No matter how annoying she can be."

"There he is!" Ashley exclaimed, pointing down at the entrance where Lex had just appeared.

"Let's go say hi," TJ said.

Stunning the last of the men on the roof, the rangers turned their gliders again and swung around. Down in the yard, they used their speed to knock men off of their feet as they sped toward Lex.

"Power Rangers!" they heard him exclaim as they sped closer. "What are they doing here?"

"We're here for you, Luthor!" TJ called.

The rangers all leapt off of their gliders, landing on the stairs in front of Lex. His bodyguards immediately drew their weapons, moving to stand in front of him. Keeping their own weapons out, the rangers approached cautiously.

"What are you doing here?" Lex asked again.

"We're here as a favor," TJ answered. "And to give you a warning. Leave Lois Lane alone or you'll have more people to answer to then you've bargained for."

"You're not getting anything from me," Lex snarled. "I will let the reporter go when I have my machine back."

"You're not getting it back," TJ said. "It's gone and out of your reach now, back in our possession where it belongs."

"No!" Lex screamed, turning to run back into the building. "If I don't get it back, then Lois Lane won't be leaving."

"Don't move!" Carlos said, turning his blaster on Lex.

Andros crept silently through the halls of the facility, his blaster in hand.

"D.E.C.A.," he said quietly into his communicator. "Any sign of Lois on the scans?"

_"Scanners are detecting energy signatures in a room at the other end of the hallway," _D.E.C.A answered. _"One of the energy signature appears to match that of Lois Lane."_

"Thanks," Andros said.

He kept heading down the hall, ducking into a closet when he heard loud voices and footsteps. Peering out of the closet as they passed, Andros glimpsed Lex running down the hall with his men. That meant the other rangers had caught his attention. Once they were out of sight, Andros slipped out of the closet and down the rest of the hall to the room Lois was being held in. He opened the door slowly, ready to duck if someone started firing. But when he opened the door, the only one there was Lois.

"Let me go!" she snapped when the door swung open. "Oh. Andros! What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out of here," Andros answered, firing his blaster and breaking the chains. "Come on, let's go."

Freeing Lois from the rest of the bonds, Andros grabbed her arm and started pulling her with him.

"Where's everyone else?" she asked when he paused to check the hallway.

"The other rangers are distracting Luthor," he said. "I need to get you out of here so they can clear out."

"Wait!" Lois exclaimed. "We have to take the computer with us."

"What computer?" Andros asked, turning around as Lois pulled away.

She ran back over by the brain-drain prototype and grabbed a laptop that was sitting on a tabletop. Tucking it under her arm, Lois moved back to Andros' side.

"We have to move," Andros said. "Come on."

Leading her out into the hallway, Andros cleared the way of the few men they ran into. Before long, they were back at his galaxy glider.

"Hop on," Andros said. "And hold on tight."

"Great," Lois groaned, climbing on and holding on as tightly as she could.

Andros took off out of the building. Spiraling up, he paused and looked down. He could see the other rangers on the steps. Diving down lower, he sped past so they could see he was out. Moving quickly he kept moving toward Watchtower.


	8. Wrap Up

_A/N Alright, last chapter of Crash Landing! Ahhh! Anyways, the fifth and final installment of the Misadventures of Lois Lane series is complete and ready for posting. There's gonna be a ton of action and suspense, so be ready because it's everything we've been working toward as Lex Luthor reveals his End Game. And the more reviews we get, the faster we'll post. So ready. Set. GO!_

Lex froze, glaring at Carlos.

"And just what is that toy going to do?" he snapped.

In answer, Carlos whipped around and shot a gun in the hands of one of Lex's bodyguards. The man cried out, dropping the gun as it heated up and melted.

"And that was on stun," TJ said. "Want us to turn the toys up?"

"And just what do you think you're going to do to me," Lex said. "Everyone knows who you are. You can't hide forever."

A flash of red in the sky caught TJ's attention and he nodded to the other rangers.

"We don't need to do anything, Luthor," he said. "You've already lost. See you around!"

The rangers turned and leapt back on their gliders, taking off before Lex's men could start shooting again.

"Mr. Luthor," a man yelled, running out the door. "She's gone! Someone just broke the reporter out."

"No!" they heard Lex yelling behind them as they took off toward Watchtower.

"Thanks again, Andros," Clark said, his arm around Lois.

The rangers had gotten back to Watchtower in no time, Lois in tow. Clark, Chloe, and Oliver had been glad to see her in one piece. Chloe had also been excited to see the computer.

"Hopefully this computer will answer a lot of questions," Chloe said. "Like what Lex is up to with the Kryptonite."

"It was nothing," Andros said. "Just like you, it's our job to help people."

"Still," Oliver said. "Thanks for jumping in when we couldn't. Lois might not be here if it wasn't for you."

"I would like to point out, for the record," Lois interjected, "that this time it wasn't my fault. All I was trying to do was go home."

"I know, Lois," Clark said, laughing. "We won't hold this one against you."

Leaning against the table, he pulled her closer. Lois didn't protest, she just leaned against him. He put his free hand up to his head, rubbing a hand across his eyes.

"Are you ok, Clark?" Chloe asked, frowning.

"I'm fine, Chloe," Clark answered. "I just haven't been sleeping much the past few months. And it's bound to catch up to even me eventually."

"Alright," she said. "Just make sure you get some rest."

"We'd better get going," Andros said. "Zhane and Karone will be starting to wonder if we're coming home."

"And we still have to swing by to visit Justin," Carlos added. "I promised we'd come by while we were on earth."

"It'll be nice seeing Justin again," Ashley said. "It's been such a long time."

"And then after that can we stop hopping around for a while?" Cassie asked.

"Yeah, we'll go home for a bit, Cass," TJ said, laughing.

"It was nice meeting all of you," Andros said. "If you ever need anything, just let us know."

"We will," Chloe said with a smile. "And don't hesitate to call us either."

Nodding, Andros held up his communicator.

"D.E.C.A.," he said. "Transport us to Justin's house."

Waving, the rangers disappeared in a flash of light.

"I'm never going to get used to that," Oliver said.

"Well, then I guess it's a good thing you don't have to travel that way," Chloe said. "But I'm going to get to work on decoding Lex's computer. I'll let you guys know when I find something."

"Sounds good," Clark said. "Lois and I are gonna head home."

"And then I'm heading out to Reefside," Lois announced. "I need a vacation after everything that's happened and I still have the passes from Tommy. Think I can take one of your jets, Ollie?"

"Why not?" Oliver said. "You'll probably just steal it if I don't say yes anyways."

"I wouldn't steal it," Lois said, heading to the elevator.

She and Oliver continued to argue as Clark trailed behind, shaking his head. Rolling her eyes, Chloe went upstairs and plugged the laptop in so she could start running a decoding program.

"Oh!" Chloe exclaimed. "I was supposed to call Hayley an hour ago."

Bringing up the video chat on her computer, Chloe called Hayley. After ringing a few times, the other end picked up and the video loaded.

"Hi, Hay—Jason?" Chloe said.

Jason was standing at the computer, Hayley nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, Chloe," he said. "Hayley's upstairs cooking dinner. What's up?"

"Oh, I was just calling to say thanks for sending the space rangers," Chloe said. "They were a huge help. But anyways, I thought you were just there for the weekend."

"Well, I was originally," he said. "But I decided to stay longer because of the whole concussion thing. Trini was ok with it."

"Ok," Chloe said. "And can you pass on a message for me? Oliver wants Hayley to know that if she ever sends anyone to his office again, he will find a way to make her regret it."

"I can pass that on," Jason said, "if you answer a question for me."

"What is it?" Chloe asked.

"What is that thing doing in the lab?" Jason demanded, stepping out of the way.

He was pointing at the brain-drain machine. The machine was sitting partially assembled on the other side of the room. Chloe could also see Tommy lying on the couch. He appeared to be taking a nap.

"Oh," Chloe said. "We were told to deliver it there. And if we hadn't, the space rangers were going to drop it off when they left. Tommy wanted it for some reason, but you'd have to ask him."

"I think I'll do just that," Jason said, striding over to the couch.

Chloe watched as he shook Tommy awake.

"Bro, wake up," Jason said. "You've got some explaining to do."

Tommy sat up, blinking and holding his head. He looked up at Jason and suddenly leapt off the couch and away from his friend. Landing in a fighting stance, Tommy glared at Jason.

"I am the king of the machine empire!" he announced. "Where have you taken me? I will destroy you, power ranger!"

Jason stared at Tommy in shock and horror. He raised his hands up, trying to appear non-threatening.

"Oh no, oh no," he said. "This isn't good. Hayley! Hayley get down here!"

Chloe kept watching, not sure what to do. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on.

"What's going on down here, Jason," Hayley said, coming down the stairs and appearing on screen.

"It's the brain-drain machine," Jason said. "It's got a hold of Tommy!"

"You're no match for me, power ranger," Tommy said, advancing on Jason. "I'll destroy you and your evil ways."

"Tommy!" Hayley exclaimed. "What are you talking about? What's wrong with him?"

"It's just like before," Jason said. "Hug him or something!"

"Hug him?" Hayley asked, looking at Jason like he was insane. "What is a hug going to do?"

"I don't know," Jason said. "But that's how Kat broke him out of it the last time. She hugged him and wouldn't let go."

They both whipped around when Tommy started laughing behind them.

"Come on, Hayley," he said, laughing and holding out his arms, "come and give me a hug."

"I'm going to kill you," Jason said. "You are so dead."

"Come on, Jason," Tommy said, backing up as Jason advanced. "It wasn't that bad."

"Not bad!" Jason exclaimed. "I thought we'd lost you again, bro. And now I'm going to kill you!"

"Jason," Tommy said, edging behind the couch. "Hayley won't approve of you killing me."

Jason leapt forward toward Tommy, who bolted for the stairs. Jason followed hot on his tail.

"Come back here!" he yelled.

Hayley stared after them for a moment, and then sighed. She was heading toward the light switch when she suddenly stopped. Approaching the computer, Hayley looked at Chloe in surprise.

"Hi, Chloe," Hayley said. "How long have you been there?"

"Since before Jason woke up Tommy," Chloe answered. "Jason answered the call. Is Tommy ok?"

"He's fine," Hayley said.

A crash echoed through the lab.

"No fair using your ninja abilities!" Jason yelled.

"All's fair in love and war!" Tommy yelled back.

Another crash followed.

"Or at least he is right now," Hayley said, glaring toward the stairs. "I've got to go."

Hayley headed straight for the stairs, not even pausing to hang up the call or turn off the lights.

"If either one of you broke something you're going to wish you still had ranger powers!" she yelled.

Chloe stared at the empty lab for a moment, listening to the commotion upstairs. Then she hung up the call, shaking her head.

"I'll call her back later," she said.

Turning away from the computer, Chloe checked on the progress of the decoder program. It was still running, so she leaned back to wait. After a few minutes, her phone started ringing.

"Hello?" she said, picking it up.

Clark sat down on the couch, waiting for Chloe to answer the phone. Lois had left thirty minutes ago for the airport with Oliver. Clark had tried to lie down, but he couldn't wind down enough to sleep.

_"Hello?" _Chloe answered.

"Hey, Chloe," he said. "I don't know what it is, but that run-down feeling just keeps getting worse."

_"That's not good, Clark," _she answered. _"Can you think of what might be causing it?"_

"Not a clue," he said. "I feel tired, but I can't sleep."

_"I don't know," _Chloe said. _"Maybe you should go with Lois. A vacation could be a good thing for you. I'm sure they haven't left the airport yet."_

"Maybe you're right, Chloe," Clark said. "And you'll call me if something happens?"

_"Of course, Clark," _Chloe answered. _"If something happens that we can't handle, I'll let you know. Now hurry up before they leave without you."_

"Alright," he said. "I'll see you when we get back."

Hanging up the phone, Clark hurried to get his things together and headed out the door. Outside, he set down his suitcase and paused to call Lois to have her wait.

"Hello, Clark," a chilling voice said behind him.

Clark froze, dropping his phone.


End file.
